Why Science Is Finally Telling You to Get a Friend With Benefits

Hey, we’re not complaining.

We’ve known for awhile how enticing a friend with benefits can be; the pros of casual sex are practically unending. Someone to bone sporadically and watch Netflix with? It seems too good to be true.


But now, science is finally on our side. Psychology Today reports that people in a friends-with-benefits situation are just as satisfied as those who are married or in a serious relationship. 

A new study conducted at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality questioned 475 participants  who were asked to rank their satisfaction and general happiness with their love lives. Turns out, friends with benefits are just as happy as those casually dating, only slightly less happy than engaged couples, and happier than married couples.

The author, Zhana Vrangalova Ph.D., created the following convenient chart from the above Psychology Today article :

“Statistically, only the engaged group was more satisfied than most other groups (except for those exclusively dating),” explains  Vrangalova. “This is probably due to engaged people being in the honeymoon period, where everything is going great (which is why they decided to make a commitment to stay together for life). But both casual categories—FWBs and casual dating—were rated as just as satisfying as marital or exclusive dating relationships.”


But once the engagement giddiness dies down and you tie the knot, you’ll be less happy than if you just stayed buddies who occasionally do the horizontal mambo. So basically, think twice about that ring. 

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